Lucy Fry
Lucy Fry has teamed up with Zoey Deutch to lead an all-star cast in Vampire Academy: which is an adaptation of the novel by Richelle Mead.
We caught up with Fry to chat about the film, her role as Lissa Dragomir, and other film projects she has on the horizon.
- Vampire Academy is about to be released on DVD, so can you tell me a bit about the film?
It’s really fun! There is a great mix of comedy action and Romance all surrounding the powerful friendship between Rose and Lissa.
- You take on the role of Lissa Dragomir in the film, what was it about this character and Daniel Waters' script that drew you to the project?
I loved the Journey that Lissa goes through. At first, she is really shy and relies on her best friend Rose for everything, then she tries to take matters into her own hands and fix things alone but this just makes her even more fragile and crazy.
She goes on a really wild ride emotionally and eventually learns how to be at peace with herself... but only after hitting rock bottom first.
- Vampire Academy is the first in a series of success and popular books, so how much responsibility do you feel knowing that there is already a very dedicated fan base attached to this story and characters?
I never thought of it as responsibility but rather a shared excitement for this story.
It’s really encouraging to know that there are fans of the books who feel as connected to Lissa as I do.
- How much did you use the novels as you were developing the character of Lissa? Or did you just use what you had in the script?
I used the book constantly as a reference point because it helped me to really flesh out the subconscious journey Lissa goes through.
The book really delves into the complexity of her powers and how they hurt her, as well as the reasons why she turns on Rose and lets herself get hurt in the process of winning back power.
It was amazing to have so much depth written for me to refer to.
- Friendship is really at the core of this story, so how did you find working with Zoey Deutch in particular, as this is the core relationship?
I loved working with Zoey; she is a phenomenal actress and always such fun to be around. They couldn’t have found a more perfect Rose.
- This movie mixes, friendship, romance, action, humour, so how much was this blend of different genres a major draw?
I loved it; it was so fun to get to go through the full range of experiences during filming.
From blowing things up, to romance scenes, to playing around with Zoey and every day high school hilarity... I loved it.
- Mark Waters is in the director's chair for the film, so how did you find working with him? What kind of director was he?
He was amazing. He pays so much attention to detail and really knows how to bring out the comedy in a scene.
I felt really safe working with him because I knew he wouldn’t move on to the next scene until he got exactly what he needed.
- How collaborative a process was it between Mark and yourself as you were developing the character of Lissa? Was he very open to you bringing your own ideas to the table?
Well Lissa already existed very clearly as a complicated three-dimensional character in the book, so it was easy for both of us to see clearly who she was.
However, in terms of how I played her, he was very open to my interpretation. Especially with the healing scenes.
It took me a while to get my head around how that pain would feel in my body and Mark was open to the way I wanted to play the healing process.
- Away from Vampire Academy, you are also set to star in Now Add Honey, so can you tell me a bit about that?
I LOVED filming Now Add Honey, it was so much fun to go back home and do a really wacky Australian comedy after the intensity of the vampire world!
It is about an American Child Star, Honey Halloway, who flies to Australia with her show mom Beth (played by Portia De Rossi) to secretly release Honey’s new single ‘Pop Down South.’
However, Beth gets caught at the airport for smuggling a huge quantity of pain Killers for her Botox surgery, and is sent to Rehab.
So Honey is dumped with her dysfunctional middle class Australian Family and is forced, agonisingly, to learn what it is to be a normal human being rather than the worshipped starlet she grew up as.
I think that an English Audience will love it too because our humour is very similar!
- You are currently filming 6 Miranda Drive, how is that going? How are you finding Kevin Bacon and Radha Mitchell as parents?
They are truly amazing fake parents! This is my first film to be shot in America and I feel so lucky that they have both been really generous with their wisdom about how to navigate the industry here.
Also, I love watching them act. I stay on set to watch their scenes together because it is an amazing opportunity for me to learn from two incredibly brilliant actors.
- Throughout your career, we have seen you move between TV and film projects, so how do the find moving between the two mediums?
At the moment I am loving film, I love how every scene needs to be strong and important in order to get the story across in the 2 hours or so time frame.
I just love being on set and being part of a team working together to create something that we all believe in. It’s a euphoric feeling.
- Finally, what's next for you?
Wait and see!
Vampire Academy arrives on DVD from 14th July